


Mending A Broken Dream

by SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dreaming, Dreams, F/M, Fluff, WinterShock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 07:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11031156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor
Summary: Almost as soon as he stopped being the Asset and started becoming Bucky Barnes, the nightmares came. Dreams full of murder and pain, blood and betrayal. Dreams that had him waking screaming, shaking, and covered with sweat. All except one. He had one dream that wasn't entirely nightmare. It was still a sad and lonely dream, but it wasn't horrific, blood-soaked, or pain-filled. Just… desolate... lonely.Then it starts to come to life.





	Mending A Broken Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Marvel-ous Birthdays May 2017](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10795032) by [amusewithaview](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview), [Artemis_Day](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Day/pseuds/Artemis_Day), [CatrinaSL](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL), [CeliaEquus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeliaEquus/pseuds/CeliaEquus), [CinnaAtHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinnaAtHeart/pseuds/CinnaAtHeart), [LadyWinterlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWinterlight/pseuds/LadyWinterlight), [lj_todd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lj_todd/pseuds/lj_todd), [MelyndaR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR), [Mslight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mslight/pseuds/Mslight), [ozhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/pseuds/ozhawk), [SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor). 



> This is a companion piece to go with Mended Dreams, which was written for [marvelousbirthdays](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/marvelousbirthdays). I highly recommend you go read that first - off you go, I'll wait!
> 
> I wrote this one before I wrote ‘Mended Dreams’. When I first took the prompt I made a ‘Dream’ playlist in my phone, and ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ was the first song to play, and this just flowed out of me.  
> In his dreamscape Bucky has his original flesh arm.

**Mending A Broken Dream**

 

~*~

 

Almost as soon as he stopped being the Asset and started becoming Bucky Barnes, the nightmares came. Dreams full of murder and pain, blood and betrayal. Dreams that had him waking screaming, shaking, and covered with sweat. All except one. He had one dream that wasn't entirely nightmare. It was still a sad and lonely dream, but it wasn't horrific, blood-soaked, or pain-filled. Just… desolate... lonely. 

The longer he was free and the more memories he regained, the lonelier it seemed to get. 

The dream was a wasteland. Long abandoned streets. Tall, desolate buildings. A black void in the sky. Dead trees, broken roads, shattered glass, and twisted metal filled the otherwise empty landscape. There was no colour, either - everything was black, or grey, but never white.

There was no life in this dream. No living trees, no birds, no plants, animals, or insects. Definitely no other people. Just him. Walking. Alone. No company except for the shadow that stretched out in front of him, leading him onwards through the seemingly dead city.

It was like that for a long time. And then, gradually, the dead city began to feel more like it was just... sleeping. He started catching glimpses of movement from the corner of his eyes. A shadow moving here, a dead leaf fluttering there. A glint of something, reflected off something that shouldn't reflect. 

At first, he thought it was his imagination, and he ignored the flickers and glimmers and flutters, until one day he realised that there was a new presence in his dream, and he wasn't walking down the road on his own any more.

Not very long after that, Steve appeared in the room he called home.

“You don't have to do this on your own, Buck. We can help you,” Steve said earnestly, and Bucky knew he was asking him to come with him.

That night, in his dream, the presence stepped up beside him, and now, he was walking with Steve by his side.

As he began to get better, the nightmares eased off, and the lonely dream began to develop life. There were birds now, and insects. He wasn't sure if the changes in the dream were because of the changes in his life, or foreshadowing them - he suspected it was a bit of both - but it hadn't taken him long to realise the connection. For every new person who came into his life and cared about him, something changed in his lonely dream world. 

~*~

One morning, he wakes up and realises that no matter how far he walks, or which way he turns, he always ends up in front of the same house. It’s battered, and weathered, and worn. There are broken windows, holes in the walls, the paint is peeling. It has next to no roof at all. It feels… no. It  **looks** like he feels. And as he repairs his self, the house mends, too.

More people come into his life. With every new acquaintance, colleague, and  **friend** , his dream world has more life in it, and his house is looking better. Everyone he knows is represented in some way. He spends more time in the house than he does walking the streets of his dream world, now. The rooms are looking homey, lived in, cared for. There are photos and pictures on the walls. A fire crackles warmly in the living room. The furniture is old and worn, but it's comfortable, and there are rugs and cushions that give it a loved and welcoming feel.

He rather likes this house, and he commits it to memory, pulling out his rusty drawing skills and putting it on paper. It's a dream in more ways than one, now. 

One day, when he's wandering through the house, he comes across a door that he's sure wasn't there last time. He's a bit unsettled, because they're expecting new residents in the tower tomorrow, and new people always make him feel a little lost again. The door - to his surprise - is locked. He's never had a locked door in his house before. He rattles the knob, shakes at it, searches around the area for a key, but there's nothing, and, when he looks at the door again, he realises there isn't even a keyhole. It shocks him out of the dream, and he's more unsettled than he was before he went to bed.

It's close enough to morning that he decides to get up. He goes to the gym, has a shower, and then heads for breakfast in the common area. When he arrives, everyone else has already gathered, and there are two new faces. Thor has been talking about his beloved Jane and her assistant, Darcy, for days now. After a brief introduction, he secures himself some breakfast and retreats to a seat in the corner to watch. Jane is quiet, but animated in discussion, and he watches Thor watching her. He obviously and openly adores Jane, and Bucky is surprised by the jolt of envy that runs through him. He turns his attention to the other woman, and it's like the sun has burst out from behind storm clouds. She's loud and animated, laughs freely, hugs  _ everyone _ , and... she shines. He wonders if anyone else sees it.

That night, he's amazed to discover that his lonely dream world is now filled with stars and flowers, bringing a rainbow of riotous colour to his dreamscape. There's more stars lighting up his dream sky than could ever be seen with the naked eye, and instead of going into his house, he finds a park filled with flowers, and lays down on the soft green grass to stare at the kaleidoscope of colour dancing across the heavens. 

~*~

He starts finding  excuses reasons to visit the labs and workshops more often. The more he gets to know Darcy, the more his dream changes. She holds an impromptu dance party in the common room - his next dream is filled with music, no matter where he goes. He finds her baking up a storm in the kitchen, and the kitchen in his dream house transforms. She loans him a book she loves, and suddenly, there's an entire bookcase full of books in his house. She sees a drawing of his dream house, points out bits she likes, tells him about a favourite room from her childhood, and now his house has that room. She talks to him, spends time with him, always looks happy to see him, and his dreamscape blooms, along with the feelings in his heart.

On one of his visits to the lab, she's letting Stark test out a new A.I. interface on her. She's got a little button-sized device on her temple, and is telling Tony everything that's happening in an R&D lab two floors up. When she sees him hovering in the doorway, she waves him over.

“I'm talking to Friday,” she says, bouncing slightly in the chair.  “It's like she’s right in my brain!”

She holds a hand out, but as he reaches out to grasp it, the device on her temple sparks, and she jerks her hand back. Then Jane says ‘oops’, and he’s got Darcy around the waist before he even knows what he’s doing. The shockwave from the blast pushes him off balance, they’re flying apart, and he hits his head, hard. 

The world goes black.

~*~

He's in the dreamscape, but he's not alone. 

“Well, hello, Soldier,” a voice behind him says happily, and he turns around in surprise.

“Darcy? How did you get here?” he asks her.

“Uh, it's a dream, dude. I just… appeared. Like you did just then.”

He gapes at her for a moment, and then, with a little shake, he moves towards her, hand held out hesitantly. It's his left hand and he’s never really taken any notice of the fact that here, it’s his flesh arm.

She says his metal arm sexy. SEXY! He thinks he might swoon like a heroine in an old movie. And she says she dreams about him - a lot.

Even though she obviously doesn’t believe him that they’re both in his dream (and how did that happen he wonders?), he tells her all about his dreamworld anyway.

He shows her the house, and she’s a keen explorer. She wanders from room to room, not seeming to realise how much influence she’s had on the rooms, and the things in the rooms. Then they reach the locked door.

“What’s in here?” she asks.

“I don’t know, it’s always been locked,” he says, just as she grasps the handle, and… the door opens. He can’t believe it.

When she asks him if he wants to look inside, he’s scared - this room could contain anything - but she opened it, so… he follows her through.

At first, the room is dark, and then he realises that he closed his eyes as he stepped through the door.

“Oh, Bucky,” she says, wonder laced through her voice, and he opens his eyes. She’s standing across the room, leaning over something he can’t quite see. He barely has time to notice what else is in the room, as she turns around. He catches his breath, and stares in disbelief.

She’s holding a baby. It’s wrapped in a green and yellow striped blanket.

He’s still staring, wordlessly, as she coos at the tiny thing in her arms, and his mind is racing. This is **his** dream world, **his** house, **his** room… his baby? **His** baby! But ... he couldn’t open the door. It was Darcy that opened the door. Darcy… opened the door. There’s a dampness on his cheek, and he smiles when she looks at him again.

~*~

“Bucky? Bucky! Bucky, wake up!” He's sure Steve wasn't here before.

He claws his way back to consciousness, loathe to leave the dream, but needing to know if she was really there or not.

“Darcy? Darcy!“ he calls, rolling over as he looks for her. She's right next to him, and her eyes flutter open as he calls her name again.

“Jane?” she groans. Jane is kneeling next to her, asking her if she’s okay, but Darcy is babbling about the dream.

“Hey, it's okay, I know,” he says softly, and smiles as he puts shaky arms around her. “You gave me flowers.”

She gives him a funny look.

“Wait, you told me that, in the dream,” she says. “And that Jane gave you stars.”

He can see Steve and Jane exchanging curious glances out of the corner of his eye, but they remain quiet.

“That’s right, she did,” Bucky says softly. “What about… you said there was a house? And a room?”

“Yeah. A room with… ohhh,” she looks away.

“Darcy,” he says softly, “Can I ask you - what did you see in the room?” and he wonders if she can hear the hope in his voice.

“There were pictures on the wall…” she says carefully. “And a bed. And…” She looks back at him, and he can see that she remembers what else was in the room.

“What else was there, Darcy? Do you remember what you saw?” He doesn’t think he’s ever been this desperate and hopeful in his entire life. He pauses, barely breathing as he waits for her reply.

“Bucky,” she says slowly. “Was that my dream or... it  _ was _ your dream, wasn’t it? Were you dreaming about me?”

“No, I wasn’t dreaming about you,” he says. “I was dreaming with you. We were dreaming together.”

She stares at him as she moves to kneel in front of him. He lets his arms drop away from her shoulders, rests his hands on his knees as he mirrors her position.

“I was holding a baby,” she says, staring right into his eyes. “Why did I find a baby in that room?”

He’s racked with nerves now. In fact he can’t ever remember feeling this nervous before. His fingers are drumming a rapid beat on his leg, and he closes his eyes for a moment as he takes a deep breath. He opens them again and returns her gaze.

“I think… I think it was my baby,” he tells her. “My dream, my house, my room… my baby.”

She rises up and throws her arms around him. “Oh, Bucky, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

His arms come up to return her embrace and he holds her carefully, not sure how she’ll react to his next words.

“Darcy. I couldn’t open that door. I’ve never been able to open that door. Not on my own.” He takes another breath and murmurs into her neck, “You opened the door.”

She draws back, looks deep into his eyes. He can feel the warmth of her hands move from his shoulders to his face, and then he can’t say anything more, as he’s too busy being kissed.

 

~*~

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> My Tumblr, if you're interested, is   
> [ibelieveinturtles](http://ibelieveinturtles.tumblr.com/)


End file.
